gig1

[gig] /gɪg/
noun
1.
a light, two-wheeled one-horse carriage.
2.
Nautical.
  1. a light boat rowed with four, six, or eight long oars.
  2. a boat reserved for the use of the captain of a ship.
3.
something that whirls.
4.
Also called gig mill. a roller containing teasels, used for raising nap on a fabric.
5.
Obsolete, whirligig (def 5).
verb (used without object), gigged, gigging.
6.
to ride in a gig.
7.
to raise the nap on (a fabric).
Origin
1200-50; Middle English gigge, gig flighty girl; akin to Danish gig top; compare Norwegian giga to shake about

gig2

[gig] /gɪg/
noun
1.
a device, commonly four hooks secured back to back, for dragging through a school of fish to hook them through the body.
2.
a spearlike device with a long, thick handle, used for spearing fish and frogs.
verb (used with object), gigged, gigging.
3.
to catch or spear (a fish or frog) with a gig.
verb (used without object), gigged, gigging.
4.
to catch fish or frogs with a gig.
Origin
1715-25; shortened from fishgig or fizgig

gig3

[gig] /gɪg/
noun
1.
an official report of a minor infraction of regulations, as in school or the army; a demerit.
2.
a punishment for a minor infraction of rules.
verb (used with object), gigged, gigging.
3.
to give a gig to or punish with a gig.
Origin
1940-45; origin uncertain

gig4

[gig] /gɪg/
noun
1.
a single professional engagement, usually of short duration, as of jazz or rock musicians.
2.
any job, especially one of short or uncertain duration:
a teaching gig out west somewhere.
verb (used without object), gigged, gigging.
3.
to work as a musician, especially in a single engagement:
He gigged with some of the biggest names in the business.
Origin
1925-30; origin uncertain

gig5

noun
1.
a gigabyte.
Examples from the web for gig
  • If all goes well, you can entertain your new friends at dinner parties with academic horror stories from your previous gig.
  • It's what make makes this gig so frustrating and fun.
  • But you won't because you've got a great gig and you know it.
  • Sign, but if the better job comes up, take it and ditch the adjunct gig.
  • And this has further accelerated the decline of photography as a viable full-time gig.
  • Let me suggest in the mean time you find an gig doing course development in an online program.
  • Not a full-time gig of course, but excellent prep on the way.
  • The school, perhaps with a scholarship or work-study gig c.
  • Besides, teaching high school is not such a bad gig.
  • The gig is up not only on humanities' research but on the pseudo sciences as well.
British Dictionary definitions for gig

gig1

/ɡɪɡ/
noun
1.
a light two-wheeled one-horse carriage without a hood
2.
(nautical) a light tender for a vessel, often for the personal use of the captain
3.
a long light rowing boat, used esp for racing
4.
a machine for raising the nap of a fabric
verb gigs, gigging, gigged
5.
(intransitive) to travel in a gig
6.
(transitive) to raise the nap of (fabric)
Word Origin
C13 (in the sense: flighty girl, spinning top): perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Danish gig top, Norwegian giga to shake about

gig2

/ɡɪɡ/
noun
1.
a cluster of barbless hooks drawn through a shoal of fish to try to impale them
2.
short for fishgig
verb gigs, gigging, gigged
3.
to catch (fish) with a gig
Word Origin
C18: shortened from fishgig

gig3

/ɡɪɡ/
noun
1.
a job, esp a single booking for a musician, comedian, etc, to perform at a concert or club
2.
the performance itself
verb gigs, gigging, gigged
3.
(intransitive) to perform at a gig or gigs
Word Origin
C20: of unknown origin

gig4

/ɡɪɡ/
noun
1.
(informal) short for gigabyte
Word Origin and History for gig
n.

"light carriage, small boat," 1790, perhaps, on notion of bouncing, from Middle English ghyg "spinning top" (in whyrlegyg, mid-15c.), also "giddy girl" (early 13c., also giglet), from Old Norse geiga "turn sideways," or Danish gig "spinning top."

"job," first used by jazz musicians, attested from 1915 but said to have been in use c.1905; of uncertain origin. As a verb, by 1939. Related: Gigged; gigging.

Slang definitions & phrases for gig

gig 1

noun
  1. A party for jazz musicians and devotees; jam session: Kid Ory had some of the finest gigs, especially for the rich white folks (1915+ Jazz musicians)
  2. A playing date or engagement, esp a one-night job: on a gig, or one night stand/ We found some musicians and I was able to finish the gig (1905+ Jazz musicians)
  3. Any job or occupation: It's better to take some kind of main gig for their sake (1950s+)
  4. A criminal act; swindle; job, scam: It ain't no gig, lady, and I don't really care what you think/ On my first solo gig I was bagged, beaten shitless, and dumped in jail
  5. A demerit; report of deficiency or breach of rules (1940s+ Armed forces)
verb

: their glam-rock band, Nancy Boy, which has already gigged on both coasts/ I forget whether we're gigging in Basin Street or Buenos Aires

[origin unknown; musicians' senses are extensions of earlier meanings, ''spree, dance, party,'' found by 1777]


gig 2

noun

giggy

Related Terms

up yours

[1689+; origin unknown; perhaps fr Irish or Anglo-Irish, as attested by the name sheila-nagig given to carved figures of women with grotesquely enlarged vulvae found in English churches; fr Irish sile na gcioch, ''Julia of the breasts'']


gig 3

noun

An old car

[1950+; fr gig, ''one-horse carriage'']


gig in Technology


gigabyte

Related Abbreviations for gig

gig

gigabyte

GIG

Galeĩo International Airport (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Encyclopedia Article for gig

any of several members of a class of light, open, two-wheeled, one-horse carriages, popular in France, England, and America. The gig, which first appeared in Paris in the 17th century, is the ancestor of the cabriolet. Popular variations were the Tilbury gig and the Stanhope gig, both designed by Fitzroy Stanhope. The Stanhope gig was an elegant carriage with low wheels that therefore required shafts with an upward reverse curve where attached to the horse's harness. The Tilbury resembled the Stanhope except in its manner of suspension

Learn more about gig with a free trial on Britannica.com